PCNE Practice Question: Designing, Planning, and Prototyping a GCP Network
Which TWO statements about VPC Network Peering are correct? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that VPC Network Peering supports transitive routing, similar to how traditional router-based networks work, but GCP explicitly disallows this to enforce network segmentation and prevent unintended traffic flows.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Transitive peering is not supported; if Network A is peered with Network B and Network A is peered with Network C, Network B cannot communicate with Network C through Network A.
VPC Network Peering is non-transitive by design. This means that if Network A is peered with both Network B and Network C, traffic cannot flow from Network B to Network C through Network A. Each peering connection is a direct, point-to-point link, and routing is not propagated across multiple peering hops. This behavior is enforced by the GCP networking stack to prevent complex and unintended routing topologies.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Transitive peering is not supported; if Network A is peered with Network B and Network A is peered with Network C, Network B cannot communicate with Network C through Network A.
Why this is correct
VPC peering is non-transitive; traffic must be directly peered.
- ✗
Peered networks can use globally distributed routing to communicate across regions without additional configuration.
Why it's wrong here
Peered networks can communicate across regions only if subnets in both networks exist in the same region or proper routes are configured; no automatic global routing.
- ✗
Default routes (0.0.0.0/0) are automatically exported and imported between peered networks.
Why it's wrong here
Default routes are not automatically exchanged; they must be explicitly configured for export/import.
- ✗
Firewall rules from one network are automatically applied to the peered network.
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules are not shared; each network maintains its own firewall policies.
- ✓
The subnet IP ranges of peered VPC networks must not overlap.
Why this is correct
Overlapping subnets cause routing conflicts and are not allowed.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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